US House committee OKs plan to add $4b to high risk pools

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill Wednesday that would take $4 billion out of the ACA’s prevention and public health fund and use the money to bolster high-risk pools for the uninsured (Source: “GOP seeks $4B for ObamaCare program,” The Hill, April 17, 2013).

Under the ACA, insurers lose the right to deny people coverage because of pre-existing conditions and the cost of covering sick people is spread across the entire healthcare system. The law established temporary high-risk pools in each state as a bridge until the ban on coverage denials takes effect on Jan. 1, 2014. However, the pools in most state, including Ohio, have stopped accepting new enrollees because of a lack of funds to pay for their coverage.